Sanjay Kumar Pandey
Ranchi EW News : In the Lok Sabha elections 2024, medical teams will be associated with all polling centers from one day before the polling day. Primary medical facilities, including necessary medications, ORS solution, etc., will be available for voters, election officials, and security personnel deployed at polling center buildings. Medical officers from respective primary health centers will be stationed at all polling centers along with paramedical staff, reachable via ambulance or any other vehicle. The facility of 108 ambulances will be available from one day before the polling day. In case of any emergencies, cashless treatment facilities will be provided for election officials. With the consent of relevant district election officers, a list of government, non-government, and high-facility hospitals within and outside the state will be prepared and mapped for referral treatment in case of emergencies. Air ambulance facilities will also be available for special circumstances.
Chief Secretary of the Departments of Health, Medicine, Education, and Family Welfare, Ajay Kumar Singh, addressed a meeting today with the Chief Election Officer of Jharkhand, Ravi Kumar, and Deputy Chief Election Officer Dr. Neha Aroda, along with health department officials. Civil surgeons from all districts participated via video conferencing at the Nepal House venue.
Chief Election Officer Ravi Kumar instructed doctors and health workers to remain on alert mode regarding the Lok Sabha elections and ensured primary health facilities at every polling center. Medical kits with health workers will be deployed at polling center buildings, along with the deployment of doctors and health workers at local government hospitals and health centers. Non-government hospitals and high-facility hospitals outside the state are also being identified.
He emphasized that with the deployment of health workers at polling centers, medical care can be provided to voters and necessary medications can be made available. Review meetings were held on various health-related issues such as the appointment of health workers at polling centers, deployment of ambulances, air ambulances, and paramedical staff for the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Deputy Chief Election Officer Dr. Neha Aroda provided detailed information to all district civil surgeons through PPDT regarding the guidelines related to paramedical staff and medical kits from the Election Commission of India. She urged everyone involved to stay vigilant regarding air ambulances, ambulance emergencies, etc. Postal ballot facilities have been made available for health workers on duty on election day, so they can use postal ballots for voting. She appealed to all health service-related officials and workers to encourage voter awareness. Specifically, she appealed to doctors to mark the date of the polling day and voting-related stamps on the prescriptions of patients coming to them so that all voters can be aware of the voting day.
The meeting was attended by Campaign Director, National Health Mission, Alok Trivedi, Chief Director, Health Services, Dr. Chandra Kishore Shahi, Special Secretary, Jay Kishore Prasad, OSD Geeta Choubey from the Chief Election Officer’s Office, along with officials from the Health, Medicine, Education, and Family Welfare Department.
